Playboy to publish a, um, er, spread of videogame character The next step in the sexual union of man and machine, or computer porn? I'm not against porn, per se, but doesn't this raise porn standards to impossible heights? How could any real person be as perfectly proportioned as a cgi? Will this cause a new generation of even more socially inept geeks? [link via BoingBoing, scroll part way down]

Public Domain Time Travel! Tmxxine is dedicated towards public domain Time Travel technology. Tmxxine will instigate creation of the Chronology Protection Agency for the public good. more inside

You know you have what it takes to be a porn star. Now all you need is a name. Plug in your name--in a manner of speaking--and some bogus algorithm will determine the nom de porn which will launch you on your new career. Now, if you can only handle the DPs. (If you don't know what those are, don't ask.) [No nudity or naughty words. Should be SWF. If in doubt...] more inside

The anatomy of a bug

How John Kerry busted the terrorists' favorite bank. I think this piece of recent history is far more relevant to the threat of terrorism today than what the candidates did or didn't do during Vietnam. More details here. [Via MeFi.]

Arundhati Roy: Public Power in the Age of Empire. Please watch this speech. (It begins at 8:25.) There may be no more urgent voice for the world to hear right now. "No government's condemnation of terrorism is credible if it cannot show itself to be open to change by nonviolent dissent. . . . Terrorism is a horrible thing. You could say that terrorism is the privatization of war. Terrorists are the free-marketeers of war. They're people who believe that the state does not have a monopoly on the legitimate use of violence."

Pizza, anyone? Few things inspire such emotions as pizza. It triggers epic flame wars and massive love fests. We've recently had several threads that celebrate the joys of delivery pizza. more inside

Bob Dole, Republican attack dog? Former Republican Sen. Bob Dole suggested Sunday that John Kerry apologize for past testimony before Congress about alleged atrocities during the Vietnam War and joined critics of the Democratic presidential candidate who say he received an early exit from combat for "superficial wounds." more inside

Amerika, Rammstein's latest single. more inside

Dishing and swishing, bounding and astounding. Known for his cool demeanor, mink coats and velour hats, he was born and raised in Atlanta but became a "a certified hero in New York". He has "a trademark habit of inventing questionable rhymes," he has been called a "butcher of the English language" and he's even inspired a dictionary. He hawks men's hair color products. He's a philanthropist. He's Clyde.

Deserving? Blair has refused to travel to Washington to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor that has been awarded him. more inside

Fear itself. A lengthy but fascinating article about terrorism and how people around the world react to it on a day-to-day basis.

You can't fake how damn cold it was How fake is fake? I report, you decide.

Jazzstep, techstep, darkstep...all explained here . Ishkur says that his Guide to Electronic Music "could be used as a credited resource or a musical primer" but quickly goes on to say that it's not recommended as he "made most of it up!" more inside

Monkey! Monkey! Monkey! 'A while back I read an interview with a birthday clown -- you know, one of those guys who gets hired to entertain a bunch of yard apes at a seven year-old's shindig? And the interviewer asked, like, "What if you're dying out there? What if the kids are hating it?" And the subject, the interviewee-guy (I honestly have no recollection who this clown was or why I was reading this interview) said, in a pinch, he could always resort to a Funny Word. When pressed for clarification, the clown revealed a fascinating (to me) trick of the birthday clown trade: apparently every year there are two or three Funny Words, which invariably crack kids up, and when things are going sour you can just blurt one out and bring the house down. But you gotta keep up-to-date, because the Funny Words mysteriously change over time, so while "booger" might have killed in 1998, 2004 demands nothing less than a "monkey."'

On war, John Kerry is all Vietnam and no Iraq more inside

don't tell your friends
unless they dig dj moozak.

Please Stop Chewing Crap

Despite the fact that most of us carom through life like there's no tomorrow, we've all got an expiration date. Find out when yours is likely to be at Living To 100's Healthspan Calculator.

Three cheers for the Surveillance Society! "In the brave new future, Big Brother will watch our every move. But that's OK, because we'll be watching him too." So says David Brin, author of The Transparent Society. more inside